Self Reports Flashcards
What is a self report ?
A method which involves asking participants about their feelings, attitudes and beliefs towards something E.G. questionnaire, interviews
What is a questionnaire?
A type of self report that’s consists of a set of questions usually in a highly structured written form. Open and closed questions
Strength of questionnaires ?
Reach large number of participants
Often encourages honest answers
Weaknesses of questionnaires ?
Low response rates
Less flexible
Cannot judge body language
What is an interview ?
A type of self report they can have pre determined questions or no pre determined questions the researcher records answers
Strength of interviews ?
Can be altered (flexible)
Able to asses body language
Weaknesses of interviews ?
Participants may be dishonest as they may feel more judged
Hard to reach lots of people
What is a structured interview ?
When the reasearcher has pre determined questions and does not deviate from these during the interview
Strengths of structured interview ?
All questions are relevant and gain relevant data
Less open to bias
Easy to compare people’s answers
Easy to replicate
Weaknesses of structured interviews ?
Can feel to formal
Participants might not be honest
Less depth
What is a semi structured interview?
An interview with some pre determined questions but new questions are created in response to the participants answers
Strengths of semi structured interviews ?
The person being interviewed feels more comfortable
Gets relevant answers but also interesting ones
Weaknesses of semi structured interviews ?
Can be time consuming
Might be biased
Hard to keep track
Hard to replicate
What is an unstructured interview ?
An interview with no pre determined questions
Strengths of an unstructured interview ?
Interview feels more comfortable
The person being interviewed is more likely to open up
Weaknesses of an unstructured interview ?
More open to bias
Hard to compare peoples answers
Hard to replicate
Researcher could go off topic
Less relevant data
What are open questions ?
Questions with no restricted response E.G. describe the last dream you can remember.
Strengths of open questions ?
Gives the participant the option to answer how they like which leads to more accurate answers
In depth and detailed
Weaknesses of open questions ?
Very hard to analyse and compare
Some of the answer may be irrelevant
What are closed questions ?
Questions with a restricted response E.G. do you dream often (yes/no answer)
Strengths of closed questions ?
Very easy to analyse and compare
All answers will be relevant
Weaknesses of closed questions ?
No depth in answers
Might not reflect participants accurately
What are rating scales ?
A type of closed question used to gather comparative information about something
Strengths of rating scales
You know the strength of opinion
Easy to analyse
Gives number so can work out median
Weaknesses of rating scales
Open to response bias
Less meaning
What is a semantic differential rating scale ?
Measures a persons attitude towards something by putting something on a scale between two descriptive words
Strengths of the semantic differential scale ?
Gives the scale more meaning
Easy to analyse
Weaknesses of the semantic differential rating scale ?
Open to response bias
Might be hard for some people to understand E.G. children or language barrier
What is a likert scale ?
A type of rating scale which allows people to indicate how much they agree or disagree with a statement
Strengths of a likert scale ?
You know strength of opinion
Easy to analyse
Weakness of likert scale ?
Open to response bias
Doesn’t give you a number
What is response bias ?
When participants opt for the middle number on a scale to not show extreme bias
Why is response bias a bad thing ?
Can ruin research
Shows no effort to contribute properly
What is social desirability bias ?
When the participants change their behaviour to be seen as favourable / normal / desirable by others
Why is social desirability bias a bad thing ?
Ruins research
Unreliable data
What are demand characteristics?
When participants change their behaviour to suit the needs of the researcher
Why are demand characteristics a bad thing ?
Can ruin research
Response bias
